CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

The Last Day of July

THE LAST DAY OF JULY

I was surprised to read in one of the Boston newspapers that July 31st is Governor Deval Patrick's birthday.

 I also had the same reaction when I worked for state government and received a birthday invitation to former Governor Weld's birthday celebration which also happens to be July 31^st.

 You see I also happen to be born on July 31^st, so of course right away one ponders,  what do I have in common with these two Governor's I share a birthday with?  Is there really some sort of truth to Astrology and those daily horoscopes many of us read?

 Besides the obvious passion for public service and politics , what else do we have in common?

 We all love the seashore, but also enjoy spending time in the mountains.You may remember Governor Weld loved his time hunting and fishing in the Adirondacks and Governor Patrick relishes his time in the Berkshire.

 I grew up in Schenectady, NY  so a lot of my childhood time was spent vacationing in the Berkshires and Adirondacks which were at most a hour's drive. Athough having a father who worked for General Electric my guess is that the places we stayed were perhaps a bit more modest.

 One thing that the two Governors seem a bit different on is their mode of dress. I remember former Governor Weld bragging about the holes in his shoes in his campaign for US Senate against John Kerry. I detect that Governor Patrick is a bit more attentive in this arena. And where do I fit in? Well when I worked in Boston I wore a lot more suits, but were on the Cape after all and I prefer the casual look except for special meetings and occasions.

 And my bi-partisan family background and birthday I share with two Governors from different parties fits in with my own. My mom is a Democrat and my dad is deceased but was an active Republican . I find that sometimes works to my advantage in building consensus and finding the middle ground.  

 And just think on my birthday-July 31^st,  I could be on the state house at this very moment with the last minute feeding frenzy going on in the House of Representatives, with issue after issue being voted on quickly and without very little debate or public input.

Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club and two dawns

A few summer dawns in the bucolic Cotuit

Early morning-  looking out from Oregon Beach, Cotuit.

A July morning at the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club Association which teaches children ages 8-12 general and racing sailing.

These small mono-sail prams are called Mosquitos, and are handled much like a classic Cape Cod Catboat or even a Sunfish.

The Association of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club was founded in 1950 at the request of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club at its Fourth of July meeting for the purpose of organizing a group of interested parents to more efficiently run the rescue operations for the yacht club races. Prior to this time, in the early days of the club, the rescue of capsized sailors had often been done by local oystermen who were out on they bay.

Below; Wade Behlman goin' for conch fishing out of  Cotuit Harbor at sunrise a week ago.

My own dealings with DA Michael O'Keefe

All the documents I feel back up my concerns that I believe points to obstruction of justice and other possible infractions are current as they were written in 2004, 2005 and 2006.   The way the police   investigation was handled by District Attorney Michael O’Keefe concerns me due to the possibility of some sort of cover up and conflict of interest due to the hidden agendas on the part of all the parties involved with it. I also feel that the whole police investigation was sloppy, unfair, biased, flawed, and unprofessional and violated my child’s rights under Massachusetts law and possibly Federal Law. Further I feel that the police investigation was biased and prejudiced against my child right from the beginning as the alleged perpetrator was a town employee and my child was retarded and autistic.

In Feb of 1999 I gave a video of my child showing Barnstable school staff using  take down style physical restraints along with other abusive pain compliance holds on Abbie for non compliance to Barnstable Police Detective Reed Hall. The video was made by her teachers in 1998 at the request of our doctor who was questioning why Abbie was becoming so anxiety ridden and manic.  In the video we saw Abbie was abused in this manner for not sitting in her chair, not blowing her nose and not getting off the floor when instructed to by the teacher.  The teachers also twisted her wrist back and used what crisis prevention companies call Pain compliance holds on her.  She hit and or pushed the teachers when they became physical with her but was not being a danger to herself or others.  The fact the teaching staff would use the type of forceful restraint technique as shown on the video we felt rose to the level of assault and battery.  We felt that the restraints were unjustified, unethical, excessive, improper, abusive and dangerous after seeing the video, doing extensive research about restraint death. My child for instance in the video is placed in a prone physical restraint position five separate times during a fifteen minute period, all for repeated acts of non-compliance. She was restrained violently a total of 15 times in a 40 minute time frame Most of these restraints could of caused her death and I can prove that to you or anyone in this matter. In the beginning we only saw a portion of the video (20 minutes) but in late 1998 we received the original that we had given to the doctor who had returned it to us. At that time decided to go to the police after seeking advice from an attorney in the Boston area.

The Police File and the District Attorney’s file

I never had access to the police report until July of 2004 after settling a civil suit against the school district. (This did not include these three women I am concerned about)
The two page police report included a letter written by a Nurse named Kathleen Ecker who was asked by the Police to help with this investigation. I did not know of this women or what she did until August of 2003 when a lawyer for the school informed my lawyer at the time of her existence. The purpose of the letter was to report her finding as a resource person and give her own opinion in the matter. The letter in the police file signed by her was not dated but was faxed to the police from her office at the Children’s Cove (see the fax information at the top showing she did indeed fax this to the police Detective for his file).

The police detective Reed Hall then wrote the date he received it at the top as 3/9/1999 as she did not date this letter. He also hand wrote the police file as #99002835 in the corner of the letter.  This version of the letter and the reference to it in that police file is the reason I made my complaints to three Massachusetts Boards of Licensure in the fall of 2004.  This of course was the only way that I would have to make these individuals explain themselves since I would be able to access their answers to their boards.

I have recently been given another version of this same letter from the DA O’Keefe’s personal file that I did not know existed until this year in the September of 2005. It was addressed only to him and this one was dated the day before she faxed the police detective the one that ended up in the police file.  I believe that it was hand-delivered to O’ Keefe’s office on March 8, 1999 as it had a date typed on it unlike the one in the police file that did not have a date typed by the Nurse.    The version of the  letter that DA O’Keefe had in his file is an unedited version of the final letter. My feeling is that Nurse Ecker altered the information with the goal to favor the perpetrators/accused and the two women giving the expert opinion. The more I analyze and compare these two letters the more I am sure that there was a reason for the changes in the tone and content.  In reading that longer first letter and even the shorter one they almost appear to be drafted by someone other than the Nurse. I have no idea if she was asked to change the letter or she decided to do it on her own.  Knowing the background of the situation and the people involved I would be glad to explain to your office why this is very important in this matter. The Board of Licensure then supplied me with all the additional information I have in reference to this matter.

From the documents I received from the Boards and from reading the police report I found out that Nurse Kathleen Ecker was called upon to act as a resource person/child abuse expert by the district attorney.  Two women (Doctor Susan Thibadeau and Licensed social worker Simone Byrne of the May Center for Child development) were asked by the Nurse to act in the capacity of expert professionals in this matter since my child was a child with autism. I believe this impeded the police investigation into further going outside of the immediate community to get true expert opinions from individuals who do not know the accused or my child. What happened was is what some call “The Fox Guarding the Henhouse” and we all know that that means.

WHY the Case was dismissed

The information the DA and the Barnstable police detective involved  used to dismiss it was from two women( Simone Byrne and Susan Thibadeau)  who should not have been asked for their expert opinion in the first place  or offer their expert opinion when asked. They claim by verbally disclosing in detail certain important connections to the perpetrator and her school system that it was not a conflict of interest.  However the DA and myself do not believe they disclosed the information they claim to have disclosed in the course of their being asked to help as experts in the investigation. I would say that any people asking to be “experts” outside of a situation should be impartial and not advocates for the people accused. This is not what happened in the case of my child and this horrible criminal investigation!! Susan Thibadeau and Simone Brynes should have  immediately recused themselves from the investigation but chose not to in order to protect their friend Yvonne O’Connor  who was along with her husband Tom O’Connor former employees of the May Center for many years. This also kept Yvonne and the other staff person involved in that classroom from getting further investigated. I feel that they also did this to keep themselves and the May Institute’s reputation from being harmed as they were a party to the abuse that happened to my child directly and indirectly. Susan Thibadeau was the director of the May Center and the paid (subcontractor) outside consultant to the Barnstable school district. She was the paid consultant to the very classroom. She consulted directly on my child right before the video was taken as part of her job with the May Center.   I have records that show the May Center being paid large amounts of consulting and school services from 1999 to 2005. This private school which is part of the May Institute also consulted on many other schools throughout the commonwealth and both these women were involved personally with the consultations. The last thing they would want is to have a teacher be charged with assault and battery due to something they taught her or condoned in a classroom they consulted on. Both Susan Thibadeau and Simone Byrne claim they gave a VERY detailed verbal disclosure to the Nurse Kathleen Ecker due to the obvious conflict of interest since they both knew it was a criminal investigation. According to the Nurse, DA O’Keefe and Reed Hall this disclosure was not made to any of them. However  is possible that the person used as the recourse person for the police who Mr. O’Keefe as he say “reached out to” got this information and did not tell him. It is also possible that the three women agreed that she not disclose this any further than to her.

Documents written by all three women to State Licensing Boards

By reading the letters (including one written by the Nurse’s Attorney) the three women who all have different tales of what happened is a red flag that they intentionally blocked this police investigation and together worked toward getting it dismissed. As anyone can read in all three letters sent to me by the boards the two women from the May Center were not only very familiar with the teacher but one had directly consulted on that school program to my child a week before the video was made.  The two women say in their letters they specially disclosed to that nurse of their connection to the teacher professionally and personally. Nurse Ecker and her attorney however deny that she knew of this conflict of interest or that this information was given to her at all by the two women from the May Center.  Her lawyer told me last Friday that the answers that she gave to the board of Nursing are what is true and she is standing by them no matter what the May Center employees say. In speaking by phone to the  District Attorney he told me he believes also believes the nurse and that other two women  were lying to their boards of licensure.  As District Attorney he denies any knowledge of the detailed verbal disclosure that was supposed to get to the police and his office. He found it very strange that this information that appeared in their answers to the Boards in such detail did not show up before to him or Reed Hall. He wrote me a letter after leaving a long phone message I am sending you. I also recently spoke to Detective Reed Hall and he also verifies that he was not aware of this conflict of interest.

Charges against the three women for obstruction of justice and conflict of interest

As I told you on the phone I asked the DA to file a charge against the women) but he refuses for a number of reasons which I found very odd and unsettling.  Although Mr. O’Keefe left me a cordial and nice message on my answering machine a few weeks ago regarding what he said “Did not sound right” after reading the letters by these parties our relationship has completely broken down. (I will send you a tape of this phone message with this letter)  ALSO sadly, the Boards of Professional Licensure believe at face value all the answers each woman gave and totally ignore what the other letters say about the disclosure. I have however appealed their decisions as Dr.  Susan Thibadeau case was dismissed specifically due to her letter claiming she verbally disclosed to the police. As a note I was told by a newspaper reporter that the special needs director told her in an interview that Doctor Susan Thibadeau had seen the video the year before the police investigation as a favor to the school district. I then reviewed the original article that this reporter wrote on March 22, 1999 and found that she indeed had quoted the special needs director as saying that this woman had also reviewed the tapes for their side when this first happened sometime in 1998. This is about police, DA and that nurse who treat a child different since it was done in a school as some sort of barbaric aversive treatment.  

Sincerely yours,

Jean Bowden

Only 3% of Americans are healthy!

defining the ‘magic formula' for achieving good health

A study published by a group at my alma mater, Michigan State University, by Matthew Reeves, M.D. defined a healthy lifestyle and measured its impact on health in an article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

They defined the ‘magic formula' for achieving good health which, if adhered to, reduces the incidence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes by 70% and the incidence of cancer by 30%!  What formula could be this powerful and this magical? How expensive this must be. How strange it must be that we don't know about it for if we did wouldn't we all subscribe to it?

This magic formula is as follows: not smoking, maintaining a normal or near normal weight, eating 5 servings of fruit or vegetable a day and exercising 30 minutes a day.

Amazing isn't it that this formula could be so powerful? Imagine what our health care budget would be like if 70% of the most common and most expensive diseases went away? The only thing I find more astonishing than the magic formula is that only 3% of Americans adhere to these 4 healthy habits! The other 97% are content to risk crippling illness and take ever bigger doses of medicine rather than doing some simple things that we all know well will not only make us feel better but we now know, reduce our disability and make us live longer to boot. It is truly a magic formula but one we can all adhere to at virtually no cost and with no side effects except perhaps more regular bowel movements.

There is a tendency to discount this kind of lifestyle advice, no matter how compelling perhaps because it seems to good to be true or that this kind of adherence is too difficult. With the benefits so dramatic, however, we all should consider this advice more seriously. Save your own life!

My thanks to Monte Ladner, M.D. for his recent lecture on this subject from which much of this information was obtained.  I urge you to visit his website (www.fitness rocks. com) for the complete lecture and for podcasts on a long list of interesting health topics.    

"Ted and Ted Wind Farm Show" canceled

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has been a staunch opponent of the proposed Nantucket Sound Cape Wind farm from Day One.  He has expressed concern about being able to see wind towers so distant from his Hyannis compound that they would not be visible even on most sunny days because of the sea mist.

Enough on Senator Ted.  He has serious health problems to worry about now and I wish him the best.  In fact, I ran into him once and he didn't take a swing at me.  I don't think he recognized me.  Anyhow, he came across as a really personable guy and that's how I shall think of him.  I hope he exerts his remaining efforts on good works for the people of Massachusetts and not waste time opposing a noble and inevitable endeavor.

It's his partner in the "Ted and Ted Wind Farm Show," Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) that has now won long deserved front-page acclaim and long-deserved exposure.  First it was Senator Don "Bridge to Nowhere" Young, (R-AK), who tried to block the wind farm.  When that failed, Senator Ted Stevens tap-danced an amendment into a Coast Guard funding bill that specifically applied to killing the Nantucket Sound wind farm.  Where do these guys from Alaska come from anyway?  Not having enough fun poking the bears up there?  Need to poke around in Nantucket Sound?

It is this kind of back-room dealing and closed-doors horse-trading that bugs me about our honorable Congress.  One Ted in Massachusetts talks to the other Ted in Alaska, and, voila, all kinds of roadblocks are thrown up from Yukon country against the Cape Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound.  Happily for Massachusetts and for America, they failed.

Now Alaska Ted has been charged by the Justice Department of concealing more than $250,000 of gifts from an Alaskan oil services company, VECO.  In fact Stevens is accused of using his position and office in the Senate on behalf of VECO between 2001 and 2006.  Add to this the fact that major financial backers of the so-called Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound are connected to gas, oil, and coal-mining interests and...well, a school kid can connect the dots.

The bunkum, hogwash and claptrap (sounds like an anti-wind-farm law firm) are about to end.  The Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board made a series of rulings on July 28 in favor of Cape Wind, including the reassertion that it has more authority over parts of the project than the Cape's tired old lady, the Cape Cod Commission.  The Commission tried to block Cape Wind's plan to build transmission lines from the wind farm to the town of Yarmouth.  Hey, somebody should have told them the electricity has to travel to land somehow.

Cape Wind passed a series of important hurdles in this latest ruling from the EFSB, which must still rule on Cape Wind's petition in its entirety.

The Alliance claims, "It's not a done deal."  Well, I'm sure they'll be hiring Bunkum, Hogwash and Claptrap to cause further delay and consternation.  But the wind farm will be built.  Already the "shore bird" opposition to the wind farm has become the laughing stock of the nation.

But we will miss the "Ted and Ted Wind Farm Show."  One Ted is seriously ill, and the other Ted may be heading to the pokey.  At his age of 84, however, it is doubtful they will place him in a cell with Bubba, who just loves wind farms.  We can only hope that if they let him walk free, instead of an ankle bracelet, they will place a beanie on his head with twirling turbine blades that read, "Cape Wind, Cape Wind, Cape Wind."

Primum Non Nocere

Bay State drops the ball on women's healthcare

The Massachusetts legislature has dropped the ball on women's healthcare. A bill which would provide an ‘umbrella' for all three groups of professional midwives (Certified Nurse Midwives, Certified Midwives, and Certified Professional Midwives), with enhanced standardized regulations and oversight, will decidedly not pass today. Boston's Weekly Dig quoted Rep. Vincent Pedone (D-Worcester), who put a hold on the bill due to his concerns about safety: "I have questions regarding the level of... safety for child-bearing women in Massachusetts ... My feeling is that the level of education, training and oversight is not adequate for us to give our seal of approval. It puts both the mother and baby at risk."

The point of the bill--to regulate and oversee already educated, trained and practicing midwives who have registered with one of three nationally recognized midwifery organizations--was apparently lost on Pedone, and the others who did little to move the bill forward. The point of the bill is to enhance the level of safety and care by creating a Board of Registration in Mass for midwives; what Pedone is questioning is the effectiveness and safety of the practice of midwifery itself. The legislators are suffering not only from startling ignorance concerning women's healthcare in this country but also, apparently, from a lack of internet access or a library card. The information is out there, compiled for decades by the WHO, by the United Nations, by medical anthropologists from all specialties, by doctors and by midwives. If Pedone had questions, he need only Google to find the answers.

Most of the United States suffers from a strange fetishism: a near-worship of the Western model of biomedicine, a complete and bottomless trust in the symbol of the white lab coat. Part of this worship is understandable--when it comes to fixing problems and curing pathologies, America is hard to beat. Pregnancy, however, is neither a problem nor a pathology, and the high level of medical intervention insisted upon by most US hospitals does little to aid the natural, biological process of childbirth. In fact, in lots of cases, it hinders, even harms.

According to the United Nations, the US is ranked 163 in world-wide infant mortality rates, at 6.3 per 1,000 births, and our maternal mortality rate is not much better at 17 per 100,000 (Iceland, by comparison, is 0; Austria is 4). Our citizens believe in our status symbols (wealth, technology, science, schools) and that those symbols enhance our level of health and heath outcomes. Why, then, are we 163?

More babies die at birth in the US than in New Zealand, Cuba, and even Slovenia. We're behind Cuba and Ireland and even the Channel Islands. You have better chances of delivering a healthy baby in South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic than you do on our own soil, and there's no place more enticing for an expectant mother than Iceland, the first place winner, with a mere 2.9 deaths per thousand. The Massachusetts rate of C-section is over twice the WHO condoned rate, at 33%, only slightly higher than the national average of 31%. We induce; we monitor; we inject; we cut. Sometimes, the data shows, we kill.

A group of Mayans in Mexico practice midwifery in the home for nearly all their births, and although their midwives are trained to refer problems to nearby hospitals, they rarely do. Their infant mortality rate is 4 per 1,000. Babies are born with dad and female relatives in attendance, with a folk-trained midwife with basic skills (disinfect the blade you cut the cord with, and that sort of thing) administering massage. There are no fetal monitors or epidurals or episiotomies, and certainly no inducement of labor when a woman doesn't deliver by her entirely arbitrary guesstimate of a due date. More babies live. The !Kung San, a hunter/gatherer tribe of the Kalahari who practice solitary birth (ideally with no midwives or attendants) have a maternal mortality rate of 4 in 1,000. While that's significantly higher than the US, it's also in astounding defiance of Western stereotypes about ‘primitive' birth practices.

Of course, women in the US, even women inclined towards natural childbirth, birthing centers, midwives, or home births, have one nagging question: What if Something Goes Wrong? It's a legitimate worry, of course, and with it comes the guilt and blame associations often attached to hippie dippie mothers who ‘irresponsibly' choose home births, even those mothers who have healthy babies to show for it. Midwives, of course, are also interested in the Something going Wrong, and data from the University of Michigan shows that Wrong is Relative: midwives generally deliver with lower instances of C-sections, neonatal death, and low birth weight than doctors do. When there are real problems and high-risk pregnancies, midwives are "effective in screening... and referring those clients to obstetricians," according to Barbara Graves at Bay State Health (from the Dig article). No one ever said that by choosing a midwife, childbearing women forfeit the opportunity for high-tech medical care. And yet that seems to be the public impression.

Women are biologically capable of giving birth without any help from white lab coats, IVs, and C-sections. It's nice to know we've got the option, of course, but Mass seems to think it's our only option. When the midwifery bill comes up for consideration next time around, physicians, midwives, and legislators alike should take a good look at the hard data and remember the Hippocratic tradition: primum non nocere.

"First, do no harm."

For more information, visit here.

The 20-Letter Alphabet

We find ourselves mired in the manic 21^st century. A century that affords us so little precious time to deal with all the many twists and turns that modern life sends our way.

In fact, so many things demand our attention on a daily basis that we now have to double our efforts, requiring, for instance, that we make our telephone calls while driving in the car to our next appointment. Is this where human evolution has led us? To the point where, as a species, we have to multitask while operating a speeding metal box along busy roads teeming with others of our species also speeding along, in the opposite direction, each also in the process of multitasking?! Somewhere, Darwin is shaking his head and wondering if perhaps our species is more closely akin to the extinct dodo than to the ape.

There's just too much going on this century. Too much on our plate. And personally, I can't stomach another bite.

So, I propose that we all find ways to streamline this crazy 21^st century life of ours. For my part, I think I'll tackle the alphabet. Twenty-six letters is just too many. There is repetition, and blatantly unnecessary characters. I'm thinking if we can get down to 20 letters it will be a good first step in lightening our future load.

Let's take a look from A-to-Z to see where we can trim some fat:

A - I guess we need A ... after all, it is the first letter, so in that sense it's grandfathered.

B - Need it.

C - Ditto.

D - We need D for the word "Ditto."

E - Okay, here's our first cut. From now on the letter A will also be used for all E sounds (they're pretty close). We may need to change the pronunciation of some words - like bed and sleep - but let's face it, we're in a recession. We all have to make sacrifices!

F - Keep it.

G - Keep it.

H - Keep it.

I - Keep it (see Y below)

J - No longer necessary. Soft G will do the trick. (Note: From now on please refer to me as Gack.)

K - The letter K represents an obvious case of sound repetition with the letter C. Frankly, I don't know how K has survived this long with C doing most of the heavy lifting on such words as cat, cape, commentary, and colonoscopy. (By the way, I guess that means my name is now shortened to Gac ... see, I'm saving letters already!) Hey, let's face it, the letter K had it coming with its arrogant silent letter status in such words as knoll, knife, and knee. Who the heck does K think he is?! Good riddance!

L - Need it.

M - Need it.

N - Need it.

O - We will keep O, but it will be required to double up as the number zero as well. Sorry O, but we all have to do our part. Recession!

P - Need it.

Q - This has got to be the second most useless letter ever invented (see X below). Q is clearly not needed when we have the letters C and W kicking around. So, from now on the word quintessential will be spelled cwintassantial. The city of Quincy will be Cwincy. And at the RMV you will no longer need to queue up -- instead it will be a free-for-all, survival of the fittest mentality (see Darwin: Origin of the Species).

R - Need it.

S - Need it.

T - Need it.

U - With Q out, we no longer need U to follow it. The U sound in all other words will be handled with the insertion of two O's ... so mule will now be mool, gruel will be grool, and fuel will be fool. By the way, the U-turn is now illegal in all driving situations (especially if you're on your cell phone at the time!).

V - Need it (for the word vacuum ... otherwise the 21^st century will become a plenty dirty place ... by the way, vacuum will of course now be spelled vacoooom).

W - Need it.

X - This letter is absolutely unnecessary. I swear, words like xylophone and xylotomy were invented just to give X something to do. From now on, xylophone will be zylophon, and axe will be spelled acs. And "X" will no longer mark the spot. That job now belongs to the ampersand.

Y - We will keep Y, but this whole business of Y being both a consonant and a vowel is for the birds. Y will be remain a consonant, while the letter I will assume all of Y's previous vowel duties.

Z - For now, the letter Zed will remain part of the alphabet, but it is on probation for the next 90 days.

Let's see, that leaves us with the following 21^st century alphabet:

A B C D F G H I L M N O P R S T V W Y Z - 20 letters, a reduction of six (or a 23% savings in these lean recessionary times!).

So, enjoy the remainder of the 21^st century with fewer letters ... and presumably with more time to take up a hobby, like learning to play the zilophon.

Gac Shaadi (a/k/a Jack Sheedy)

Shots fired in Dennis; Dennis crash; 4 arrested after Dennis disturbance; Ped struck in Falmouth; Body found at Hyannis BK

Shots fired in Dennis
DENNIS - Around 3 a.m. Dennis Police received several reports from residents of Center Street in South Dennis of shots fired. When they arrived officers found several .40 caliber shell casings on the ground. Dennis and State Police and a Sheriff's Department Country Investigation Officer were searching with a dog on a stretch of Center Street between Route 134 and Upper County Road. Police cordoned off Center Street from Baxter Street to Rangley Road until about 5:30 a.m. while they investigated.
Story by Kevin Morley. Image courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Tugboat reported on fire in Buzzards Bay
BUZZARDS  BAY - A portion of Buzzards Bay was closed this morning after reports a tugboat caught fire.

Thick fog prevented the tug Canal Deluge from being seen from shore.

Three crew members were plucked from the vessel by the Coast Guard after they were notified about an engine fire on board about 1 a.m. There are no reports of injuries. Coast GuardVideo clearly showed smoke billowing fron the ship.

In an interview with WXTK News a Coast Guard spokeperson said there was no environmental hazard and marine traffic is able to get in and out of the Cape Cod Canal and past the area. The Canal Deluge was one of two tugs escorting a barge. Two other tugs worked to contain the fire while the Coast Guard and Mass Environmental Police monitored the situation for any pollution or hazard to navigation.
Map courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth. Scene shot courtesy of USCG.

Two-car Dennisport crash sends one to the hospital
DENNISPORT - The call came in to Dennis Fire at 6:33 p.m. on Thursday for a two-car crash at the intersection of Pleasant and Center Streets in Dennisport. A young woman driving a Volvo wagon east on Center stopped at the stop sign. She said that a car headed south on Pleasant stopped and waved her out. She apparently didn't check to her right and "t-boned" a Honda Accord headed north on Pleasant "that came out of nowhere." The older female driver of the Honda was transported to Cape Cod Hospital by Dennis medics with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening. The two other occupants of the Honda and the driver and passengers in the Volvo were uninjured. Dennis police are investigating.
Story by Kevin Morley.

Bicyclist struck by car in Hyannis
HYANNIS - A bicyclist was injured in a collision with a car in Hyannis late Thursday afternoon. It happened shortly after 5 p.m. off Route 132 in the Liberty Commons strip mall parking lot across from the Cape Codder Resort. The victim was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with a serious leg injury. Barnstable Police are investigating.

Four arrested following disturbance at South Dennis parking lot
DENNIS - On Wednesday, July 30, at approximately 9:25 p.m., Dennis Police responded to the parking lot of the Stop & Shop Supermarket at 500 Route 134 in South Dennis for a report of a disturbance involving two groups of young adults.

Dennis Police Capt. William M. Monahan reports that, upon arrival, the officers observed a motor vehicle containing three individuals who had been part of a larger group, which had disbursed, involved in the disturbance.

Upon speaking with these individuals, officers saw a large, double-edged knife on the floor of the vehicle and ordered the subjects out. Subsequent investigation revealed the operator, Andrew Young, 17 years of age, of Cassick Valley Rd. in South Wellfleet, was also in possession of a pair of metallic (brass) knuckles.

Further investigation revealed that the front seat passenger, Drew Green, 17, of Locust St. Eastham, was in possession of a switchblade knife.

Two male subjects were also arrested when they became disorderly during the arrest of their friends, Young and Green. These subjects were identified as Jared Morton, 18, of Breakwater Rd. in Brewster and a 16-year-old Brewster male juvenile.

The three adults were released on Personal Recognizance for their appearance in Orleans District Court on Thursday morning July 31, 2008.

The juvenile was released to his parents for appearance in Orleans Juvenile Court at a later date.

The third passenger in the vehicle was not arrested.

Story by Kevin Morley.

Accused shoplifter with lengthy record held on default warrant
YARMOUTH - Yarmouth Police detained a man for questioning after an alleged shoplifting at the Reebok Outlet Store on Route 28 Thursday afternoon. They couldn't connect him to the shoplifting but discovered an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Police say 55-year-old Paul Lopes of Yarmouth has 66 defaults on his record which consist of 172 arrests and 22 years of jail time served. He will be in Barnstable District Court Friday morning.

Pedestrian struck in Falmouth
FALMOUTH - A young man was taken to Falmouth Hospital after being struck by a car Thursday morning. The man was apparently trying to cross Teaticket Highway (Route 28) by the Burger King when he was struck. His injuries were described as not life-threatening. Falmouth Police are investigating.

Man falls off trailer at Sears
HYANNIS - At 10:30 a.m. Thursday rescuers were called to the Sears Automotive Center at the Cape Cod Mall after a man apparently fell from a parked truck trailer. The man was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with unknown injuries. Further details were not immediately available.
Story by Frank Paparo.

Body found at Hyannis Burger King
HYANNIS - Barnstable Police are investigating the death of a woman found in the rest room at the Burger King on North Street in Hyannis about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.

Firefighters were called to a report that someone was locked inside the bathroom. When they opened the door they discovered the woman dead.

Foul play is not suspected.

More charges for Cape couple; CCBL All Stars honored

Cape All-Stars honored:

The 50 Cape Cod League All-Stars and the league's 10 managers were honored in an on-field ceremony prior to the game. Ten current Red Sox _ Jason Varitek, Javier Lopez, Kevin Youkilis, Kevin Cash, Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Aardsma, Craig Hansen, Sean Casey and Justin Masterson _ played in the Cape League ... A decision on the next move for Bartolo Colon will be made after he throws a side session Saturday. The Red Sox pitcher has been on the disabled list since June 17 with a back strain ... Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk was in attendance.

More charges for Cape couple

Police filed additional charges against two Cape Cod residents who were arrested Tuesday morning on gun and drug charges in Westboro.

In addition to an ammunition possession charge levied against him Tuesday, Richard Conrad Cormia, 20, of 19 Lumber Mill Road, Centerville, was charged yesterday with receiving stolen property over $250 and possession of a firearm without a Firearms Identification Card, police said.

Nicole Ann Rondeau, 21, of 15 Schooner Lane, Pocasset, was charged Tuesday with driving with a suspended registration and possession of marijuana. Yesterday, she was also charged with receiving stolen property over $250 and possession of a Class E drug. The latter drug charge stems from pills police said she had, which are being tested to determine their identity... Metrowest Daily News.

Endangered Kemp's Ridley turtles returned to the sea

BACK TO THE WILD:

   A huge crowd gathered at Dowses Beach in Osterville Wednesday to watch as five rescued Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles waddled their way back into the sea.

Regional Partners Collaborative release 5 of the world's most endangered sea turtles here yesterday

Photos by Paul Rifkin for cctoday

Six regional marine animal organizations have worked closely together toward a single mission to let go--more specifically, joyfully release--five critically endangered sea turtles yesterday afternoon back to their saltwater home.

See video of their return.
"The collaboration to save the turtles, care for them, and return them back to the wild to help save this rare species is a fantastic thing." Keith Matassa

The five Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, some with tranmitters on their shells, were released on Dowses Beach in Osterville by rehabilitation partners the New England Aquarium, the National Marine Life Center (NMLC), the University of New England Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Woods Hole Science Aquarium, and the Riverhead Foundation.

The sea turtles, all juveniles, were found cold-stunned between November 2006 and January 2008, and rescued by volunteers from Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

"The collaboration of all of these rehabilitation facilities to save the turtles, care for them, and return them back to the wild to help save this rare species is a fantastic thing," says Keith Matassa, MARC's marine mammal rehabilitation coordinator.

Names and history of the
five juvenile turtles released:

"Tigger" (click image to see video)
MARC 08-011 Lk
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Arrival Date at MARC: 1/25/2008
Stranded At: Linnel Landing, Brewster, MA
Transferred from: New England Aquarium
Gender: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Reason for Rehabilitation:
Recovering from Cold-Stunning (Hypothermia)

"Waldorf"
MARC 08-010 Lk
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Arrival Date at MARC: 1/25/2008
Stranded At: Breakwater Beach, Brewster, MA
Transferred from: New England Aquarium
Gender: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Reason for Rehabilitation:
Recovering from Cold-Stunning (Hypothermia)

"Ursula"
MARC 08-009 Lk
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Arrival Date at MARC: 1/25/2008
Stranded At: Beach Point, North Truro, MA
Transferred from: New England Aquarium
Gender: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Reason for Rehabilitation: Recovering from Cold-Stunning (Hypothermia)

"Scooby Doo"
MARC 08-008 Lk
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Arrival Date at MARC: 1/25/2008
Stranded At: Linnel Landing, Brewster, MA
Transferred from: New England Aquarium
Gender: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Reason for Rehabilitation: Recovering from Cold-Stunning (Hypothermia)

"Lavender"
Stranded at: Sandy Neck Beach, Barnstable
Arrival Date at NMLC: 1/16/2007
Transferred from: New England Aquarium and NOAA
Reason for Rehabilitation: Recovering from Cold-Stunning (Hypothermia)

Kemp's Ridley sea turtles are the world's most endangered sea turtle, with only a few thousand breeding females known to exist in the wild. Kemp's Ridleys are also among the smallest of the sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds and reaching about two feet in length. The juveniles being released weigh 10-25 pounds. The Kemp's Ridleys range includes the Gulf Coasts of Mexico and the United States, and the Atlantic Coast of North America.

Late each fall, many juvenile sea turtles feeding in Cape Cod Bay fail to migrate south. Since the turtles are cold-blooded, their bodies assume the temperature of the water around them and they eventually become hypothermic. Some die at sea while others drift to shore. Volunteers from the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary rescue the turtles along the beach and transport them to rehabilitation centers. There the turtles are slowly warmed and treated for complications of hypothermia, including pneumonia and bone and joint problems. Sea turtle stranding season lasts from late October through December.

"Saving these critically endangered animals is essential to ocean conservation. We're thrilled to be working alongside institutions such as the New England Aquarium, Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center, MassAudubon, Riverhead, and NOAA in the fight to save stranded sea turtles on Cape Cod" said Kathy Zagzebski, NMLC President and Executive Director.

Two of the turtles will be tagged prior to release to gather information about their post-release behavior, survival, migration and habitat, and to see how the rehabilitation techniques affect the turtles in the wild. "Lavender" is being fitted with a satellite tag that was funded by donors at NMLC's 2007 Mermaid Ball fundraising gala. "Scooby Doo" will be fitted with a tag generously provided by the Riverhead Foundation. The satellite tags, which weigh less than 2 ounces, are attached to the turtles' shells just behind their necks. Physical identification tags are also placed on the turtles' flippers and a PIT tag just under their skin. The public may follow the turtles' progress at www.seaturtle.org/tracking.

About the Turtles

Highly endangered Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) are the smallest of the sea turtles, and just a few thousand breeding females are known to exist in the wild today. The five turtles being released July 30 at Dowses Beach in Osterville are Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.  

Photo on right shows members of the consortium showing them to participants on the event yesterday.

They were cold-stunned and suffering from hypothermia when they stranded on Cape Cod - four were rescued in January 2008 (Tigger, Waldorf, Ursula and Scooby Doo) and transported to the New England Aquarium, which provided initial treatment and then transferred them for care to the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center in Biddeford, Maine. The other turtle (Lavender) was rescued November 2006 from Barnstable, Mass. and transported to the New England Aquarium for treatment, and subsequently to the National Marine Life Center for additional care.  The profiles below describe these turtles in a bit more detail:

The turtle arrived immunocompromised from extended exposure to cold temperatures and was suffering from pneumonia and injuries to the front flipper tips; it was initially treated at the New England Aquarium before being transferred to the National Marine Life Center (NMLC) on January 16th, 2007. Due to the construction of NMLC's new hospital, Lavender was transferred to our partner organization, NOAA Woods Hole Science Aquarium, in January of 2008 while remaining under the medical care of NMLC's veterinarians, Dr. Michele Sims and Dr. Rogers Williams. A tracheal wash revealed that the pneumonia was caused by bacteria called Mycobacteria fortuitum. A series of nine CTs were performed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Computerized Scanning and Imaging Facility and at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Mauricio Solano, a veterinary radiologist at Tufts, provided a review and interpretation of Lavender's CT series. Lavender's condition was treated with several courses of antifungals and antibiotics.

After nearly one and a half years of treatment, the pneumonia is resolved and Lavender is ready for release.